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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29094369">ZAP</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/that_writing_nerd/pseuds/that_writing_nerd'>that_writing_nerd</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Dreamnotfound is a side romance sorry boys, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I do a lot of POV changes, M/M, POV First Person, i like soulmate aus lol, made this before i knew Skeppy's full name</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 12:35:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,821</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29094369</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/that_writing_nerd/pseuds/that_writing_nerd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world filled with people destined to be together, Bad is hesitant to find his soulmate once turning eighteen. However, with a sudden push from fate, will Bad be able to find true love sooner than anticipated? Or will something, or someone, get in the way of his happy ending?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Zak Ahmed &amp; Darryl Noveschosch, Zak Ahmed/Darryl Noveschosch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>115</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A Crazy Coincidence</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/ewynn/gifts">ewynn</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I will be posting every Saturday from now on, so be ready for that!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I am probably the unluckiest person in the world. Want to know why? Well, where do I start…</p><p>Everyone gets their soulmate’s initials on their wrist (right or left depending on which hand they use the most) on their eighteenth birthday. I know I know, it’s hard to find your soulmate with just their initials, but there’s a solution for that. You can go to your nearest Soulmate Finder building and they will give you a list of the people with those initials and the basic info like their name, gender, and phone number. The list is also organized by the likeliness of them being your soulmate, which can vary in accuracy at times, but it usually depends mainly on age, gender, and sexual orientation. There’s a whole process of taking a test or two beforehand, but it’s all pretty simple stuff.</p><p>On my eighteenth birthday, when I turned over and looked at my right wrist in the morning, I thought I was the luckiest person alive. My soulmate had a name that started with a Z! How could this be anything less than lucky. I didn’t know anyone with a name that started with Z at the time, so my parents took me to the nearest Soulmate Finder building and I was given probably the shortest list I’ve ever seen. The packet was around the size of a children’s picture book!</p><p>But, of course, I wanted to wait to contact any of them until later. Not until I was in college. Finding your soulmate and being with them is a very serious thing and I didn’t want that kind of commitment so soon.</p><p>A year later and I’m moving into my college dorm, carrying my boxes into my room with some struggle. This is my first time living on my own and I can barely pick up the box of kitchen utensils. Great.</p><p>“Need help with that?” A male behind the two boxes I’m holding asked with a chuckle, noticing my futile effort.</p><p>“Yes please,” I sigh in relief as he removes the top box, revealing himself. He is just an inch or two taller than I am with tan skin and a decent bone structure from what I could see. He has dark brown hair styled up with the sides shaved and has big, dark brown eyes with a bright, white-toothed smile that is amazingly contagious.</p><p>“This is your dorm? Or am I moving you into someone else’s place?” The male asks, his index finger pointing to the dorm with the door swung wide open. Boxes are strewn all over the counters and floor. I’m honestly glad I got a single dorm, though it is a bit more expensive than the shared dorms. I’m not ready to be roommates with a stranger.</p><p>“Yeah, my new home away from home,” I chuckled nervously, letting him go in first and place down the box he was holding. Then I go in and do the same. And that’s how it goes for the last few boxes I have. </p><p>“Oh my goodness, that was so exhausting,” I sigh, just relieved I got them all in. And I’m also grateful that the dorm came fully furnished as I gladly take a seat on the sofa. The male I met just minutes ago is leaning on the island in the kitchen, looking over at me with a polite smile. One thing I know already is that he’s a chatterbox. It’s like he can’t live in silence, but I really don’t mind. He mostly just seems to talk about gaming and such. Though he seems as awkward as I am, he’s pretty funny and chaotic in a fun way. “Thank you so much for the help. How much do you want me to pay you?”</p><p>“Oh no, it’s fine. I’m just glad to help out,” The stranger insists with a kind smile, “Especially since you're my new neighbor.”</p><p>“Oh really? Which dorm room?” I question excitedly, realizing I’m making my first new friend in college. </p><p>“Room 14,” He says, pointing to my left wall as it is the room right next door to my room, Room 13.</p><p>“Wow, what a cool coincidence,” I chuckle lightheartedly.</p><p>After a slight pause, the male says, “Well, I must get to my room now. I don’t wanna miss the tour tomorrow morning. I’m helping with it after all.”</p><p>“Oh, alright,” I hummed casually, walking him to the door of my dorm and watching him walk to his room. Then I realize something I never asked. We were just so distracted talking about video games that I completely forgot to ask him.</p><p>“Wait, I didn’t catch your name.”</p><p>The male turns to me, smiles, and says, “The name’s Zak, but most people call me Skeppy. It’s my gamertag. And yours is...?”</p><p>I can’t tell you the feeling I felt when I heard his name. It was too crazy of a coincidence, right? This isn’t fate or destiny. I shouldn’t just assume everyone with a name starting with ‘Z’ is my soulmate. But this guy is kinda cute...</p><p>“Darryl, but most people call me Bad. N-not because I’m bad or anything! It’s also b-because of my gamertag, Badboyhalo,” I sputter out nervously, my face pink from embarrassment. Why am I stuttering so much? These thoughts of soulmates are making me nervous.</p><p>Skeppy just smiles more and laughs lightly, amused with my awkwardness. Then he replies, “Well, I’ll be going now.” He opens his door to go into his room, but I quickly stop him again by grabbing lightly at his sleeve. I have to know if this is some crazy coincidence or not.</p><p>“W-wait. Sorry to bother, b-but I was just wondering if I could know what your full name is?” I stutter out, letting go of his sleeve. Smooth Bad. Smooth.</p><p>Skeppy looks at me confused and a bit uncomfortable. I couldn’t blame him. Sharing full names is a bit personal if you’re unaware of the context. “Zak Arthur Perez. Why?”<br/>
Nope, this has to be a crazy coincidence. Some fantastical dream I’m having after passing out from carrying all the moving boxes. He has the same initials as my soulmate. Could he be…? No, he couldn’t be...could he?</p><p>I can see Skeppy process what is happening after my long silence. He looks down at his right wrist, eyes widening ever so slightly. “And your full name is..?” Skeppy interrogates in return, hesitantly looking up at me with the same slightly wide-eyed expression. </p><p>“Darryl Brian Noveschosch,” I answer just as hesitantly. To anyone else we probably looked insane just staring at our wrists and each other wide-eyed. Or maybe others would understand, looking down at their marked wrists longingly or their blank wrists proudly. Who knows. All I know is that I might have found my soulmate on the first day of college life.</p><p>Skeppy pauses for a moment and I see him trying to take everything in. “My initials are on your wrist, aren’t they?” </p><p>I nod silently, just hoping and praying he wasn’t trolling me or something. He turns his wrist to me and I see DBN printed in bold, black letters. I can’t believe it. I feel like I can scream, but I keep quiet, still in shock. </p><p>“Are we soul-” Skeppy starts to ask the question that is on both of our minds but is suddenly cut off by someone approaching behind me.</p><p>“Skeppy, are you harassing the freshies again?” A male coos teasingly to Skeppy, and before I can turn to see who the voice belongs to, the mystery man drapes his arm lazily over my shoulders, leaning on me slightly. I see Skeppy tense a bit and his smile fades slightly, but not make a move to stop his friend.</p><p>The male is an inch or two taller than Skeppy, towering above me. He is probably 6”1’ or 6”2’ from what I can tell. He has fair skin and amazing bone structure which isn’t too rough nor too soft. He has a cute button nose to top his perfectly structured face off. He has raven black hair that is roughly two inches long all around with a freshly shaved undercut. The most stunning feature of him by far though is his piercing, dark blue eyes. </p><p>“No Zane, I was just helping him unpack,” Skeppy huffs insistently, folding his arms childishly.</p><p>Zane looks at me as I am staring at him. He looks me up and down, making me look away and flush a bright pink.</p><p>“He’s cute. Let’s have a look-see, shall we?” Zane hums in a deep but smooth tone, grabbing my arms and putting them out like I’m holding a cookie tray. His eyes catch the black print on my right wrist and he smirks. Skeppy shifts in place, tip-toeing a bit to look at the initials written on my wrist again. </p><p>“Do you think I can ask him for his initials? He looks a bit out of it,” The male ponders with a light chuckle as I’m in a bit of a flustered daze. His casual teasing just makes me blush like crazy. It’s so blatant and forward. I’m not used to it at all.</p><p>“It’s DBN and his first name is Darryl if you wanna know so badly, but I would back off if I were you. I just checked. He’s my soulmate,” Skeppy huffs defensively, standing with his arms crossed in front of his still-open door. In his eyes though, I see some form of worry. Like he knows some key detail I don’t. And he does. </p><p>“I wouldn’t be too sure,” Zane hums as he shows off his left wrist with his soulmate’s initials printed on it. My initials.  “The full name’s Zane Akira Palen. Crazy coincidence, huh? This will be fun.”</p><p>And with a wink from Zane, he walks off and into his room. Room 12 to be exact.</p><p>Skeppy looks odd. Irritated maybe? Jealous? Worried? I, however, am in complete and utter shock. One thought crosses my mind the most at this moment, staring at the green-painted door of Room 12: I am the unluckiest person in the world.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Tour of the Heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>With the complication of two soulmates, Antfrost helps the poor Bad to formulate a plan to find out which one is truly his soulmate. But will everything truly go to plan?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Wait, seriously?” Antfrost gawks with a shocked expression, seeming quite amused with my misfortune. I have known Antfrost for ages. Ever since middle school probably. He was the exchange student who was having a rough time fitting in, so one day I sat with him at lunch and gave him a muffin. A friendship muffin in fact as that was how our friendship started, but he didn’t exactly appreciate the day I brought him some catnip because I had discovered what Minecraft skin he had.</p><p>“Yeah, I still can't believe it. What are the chances of that?” I sigh, ruffling my messy light brown hair. I’m just glad I asked Antfrost to come out to talk to me about this before the whole tour for the college freshmen.</p><p>“Well, I’m glad you spammed me to wake up at seven in the morning for a good reason I guess,” Antfrost sighs, having probably stayed up most of the night playing games.</p><p>“Yeah I’m sorry, but I don’t know who else to tell. What am I supposed to do?” I groan in frustration.</p><p>“Well, obviously, you kiss them,” Antfrost states casually, making me choke on the water I am drinking.</p><p>“What?!” I squeak out in surprise, my face flushing so easily as my stomach does flips and twirls.</p><p>“When you kiss your soulmate, the initials on your wrist go away, so just kiss both of them and see if your initials disappear,” Antfrost explains as if it was obvious.</p><p>“What? No! I can’t just kiss two strangers,” I insist, my voice still at a higher pitch than my average.</p><p>“Well from what you told me I don’t think that Zane guy would really mind,” Antfrost mumbles, making my flushed face darken as I whine, “but seriously, how else are you going to find out?”</p><p>I pause for a moment as I realize Antfrost is right. I will never really know unless I kiss them. And it isn’t something super weird or awkward since I am just figuring out who my soulmate is. All I have to do is explain to them my plan and bam, I know if one of them is my soulmate or if neither of them is my soulmate. </p><p>“Alright fine, I see where you're coming from,” I huff stubbornly, agreeing to Antfrost’s embarrassing plan. </p><p>“Finally,” Antfrost says dramatically with an eye roll, “now let's get going or we’re gonna be late for the freshman tour. You said your potential husband will be there helping, right?”</p><p>“Yeah. Wait, what did you-?”</p><p>“Then you might wanna get going if you wanna go through with your plan sooner rather than later,” Antfrost points out as he slings his bag onto his shoulder and gets up from the picnic table we are sitting at, walking off without me.</p><p>“Wait you numpty muffin, I’m coming,” I call out quickly as I scramble to grab my things and catch up with him.</p><p>~~~</p><p>I nervously wait in the group of freshmen for the tour groups and their guides to be organized, peaking over at Skeppy every so often as he chats with other second years to get the tour together.</p><p>“Just go talk to him, it’s not against the rules,” Antfrost sighs as he motions to Skeppy, sick of my creepy staring.</p><p>“Yeah, just get it over with and go make out with him already,” Dream insists with a light chuckle, the male holding his hand punching him in the arm. Antfrost had briefly explained what had happened yesterday to Dream and George, two of my other good friends who probably knew they were soulmates before even getting each other’s initials on their wrists.</p><p>“Dream, that’s mean, stop teasing him,” George chuckles mischievously, not seeming as caring and upset as he wanted to sound<br/>I refuse at first, but after a lot of internal convincing and planning, I syke myself up to do it. I stand up straight, face towards Skeppy, take one step and…</p><p>“Okay everyone, tour groups and guides have been decided,” A second-year female chimes in sweetly to the crowd, which stops me in my tracks (or track) and makes my friends burst out into laughter, which caught the attention of quite a few people, including Skeppy. Once Skeppy spots me I turn red with embarrassment and do a full one-eighty to face away from him, but I look back a bit and see that he’s smiling at me with a sweet, fond smile. I almost melt into the brick platform we are standing on.<br/>The second years start splitting people off into groups and, unluckily, I get split off from my friends. Or maybe it is lucky. If Skeppy is to be the tour guide of my group of friends, it would just be endless teasing. Though I really do hope that Skeppy is my tour guide. I need to find out who my soulmate is.</p><p>“Hey cutie,” I hear someone coo lowly in my ear from behind me, making me jump almost a foot away from them and squeal like an idiot.</p><p>“Jeez, I didn’t think it would scare you that bad,” Zane chuckles, obviously enjoying teasing me. He annoys me, but I find him oddly endearing. Am I falling for the bad boy? But I’m the BadBoy.</p><p>“Group three, your tour guide will be Zane,” The same sweet second year informed us, though she seems annoyed mentioning his name. Crap, he is the bad boy.</p><p>“Cool. You guys are with me from now until the end of the tour, so I will keep it simple. No wandering off, no horse playing, no alcohol unless you're willing to share, and have fun,” Zane explains in a serious tone which progressively got more lighthearted and goofy, “Oh and I only accept questions that are in haiku form.”<br/>Some freshmen open their mouth to ask questions, but then realize they have to put in haiku form first, They quickly shut it. Then Zane just starts walking off.</p><p>“H-hey Zane,” I stutter quietly to him as we walk off the brick platform to our first tour location. I’m honestly nervous enough to ask a question like this, let alone figure out how to ask it in haiku form.</p><p>Zane looks down at me and, after noticing how nervous I am, chuckles and says, “Chill chill, if you have a question you can just ask it. No need to put it in haiku.”</p><p>“O-oh okay,” I stutter, half the stress off my back, probably less. How am I gonna just casually ask him to kiss me? How embarrassing.</p><p>“Look, if you're going to ask me out, don’t,” Zane says seriously, catching me off guard, and then clarifying, “I will be the one asking you out.”</p><p>What he says makes my face flush a bright red. He was not making this question easy.</p><p>“W-well, me and my friends were t-talking about our...situation, and we deduced that the only way we figure out which one of you two is my soulmate is for me to k-kiss one of you and-”</p><p>“Oh okay, I understand,” Zane hums in understanding, stopping in his tracks, turning me towards him, lifting up my head with his thumb and pointer finger holding up my chin, and leaning in to kiss me in front of everyone.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Muffinboy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>~~~ = timeskip! :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I almost fall on top of Zane when he’s yanked back off of me, but Skeppy stops my fall by having his hand on my chest. Skeppy has his arm around me in no time, looking at a confused and slightly aggravated Zane.</p><p>“Sarah said I was with your group since, after they organized everyone, I didn’t have one. And she doesn’t trust you,” Skeppy hums tauntingly, a triumphant smirk plastered on his face. Zane clicks his tongue in irritation.</p><p>Zane looks like he’s about to start a fight with Skeppy, a death glare from Zane piercing right through him, but he backs off, looking at the other gawking freshmen and saying, “Let’s keep going on this tour, shall we?”</p><p>~~~</p><p>“So you almost made out with one of them and then they almost killed each other, huh?” Antfrost summarizes bluntly like always as I approach them at a picnic table near the dorms. </p><p>“How do you guys know already?” I groan, still recovering from the tour we just finished. I felt so awkward in the middle of Skeppy and Zane’s death glaring war that I didn’t even tell Skeppy about my plan. I feel like prey being fought over by tigers.</p><p>“People talk and you’re slow,” Dream hums teasingly and I wave to Sapnap as I take a seat. </p><p>“I am not. I actually got out of there as quickly as possible. I thought they were gonna kill me in the tussle,” I whine with a defeated sigh, laying my head on the table, “I don’t think this plan will work with them acting like this.”</p><p>“I’m sorry Bad, I can sympathize with you on this,” George tries to say comfortingly, but Dream buds in.</p><p>“Sapnap was only teasingly flirting with you, and even if he wasn’t you still couldn’t get confused since our initials are completely different,” Dream argues.</p><p>“Shut it or I will never say I love you again.”</p><p>“You already don’t say it now,” Dream mumbles.</p><p>“You still can do the plan if you play your cards right,” Antfrost chimes in, breaking up the couple’s quarrel.</p><p>“What do you mean by that?” I ask and I’m almost frightened at how easy and quickly Antfrost can scheme.</p><p>“Just get one of them alone and kiss them before the other interrupts,” Antfrost explains as if it’s easy.</p><p>“I tried that and it obviously didn’t work out. Maybe I should be a Soulless,” I pout, giving up hope easily. A Soulless is a person who doesn’t end up with their soulmate and is either alone forever or ends up with another soulless.</p><p>“Oh my god, you would be so hopeless without me. Listen,” Antfrost sighs, grabbing my face and lifting me up a bit so I’m sitting up, “We’ll distract one while you kiss the other. And I think I know just the way to do it…”</p><p>~~~</p><p>I inconspicuously stare at the book in my hands as I sit on a bench in the hallway of the science building. I can’t believe that Zane and Skeppy haven’t killed each other yet since they have so many classes together. And I still don’t know how Antfrost knew their schedules already. He said he knew the vice principal's son who told him for twenty bucks and a snickers bar, but I’m not buying it.</p><p>“See them coming out of class yet?” I ask quietly into my Bluetooth earbuds. I wish I had a better view, but I have to hide around the corner until one of them comes down the hall and Dream and George distract the other one.</p><p>“Negative, over,” Dream says through gritted teeth as he tries to copy the static sound of walkie talkies.</p><p>“You forgot to say our codenames Muffinboy, over,” Sapnap says, mimicking the static sound much better.</p><p>“Oh right, sorry SappityNappity, over,” I hum casually, skimming the words in the book I am holding anxiously. Is this book in Russian or something? I can’t read it… oh, it’s upside down.</p><p>“Can we pay attention to the objective here?” Antfrost sighs, just wanting to go back to his dorm to play some video games. </p><p>“Here they come!” George exclaims and, as planned, I quickly end the call and flip my book and look like I’m reading. Kids start to pass me, some looking over at me oddly. <br/>Then, I hear, “Bad? What are you doing here?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Ooh Honey Honey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warning, a lot of POV changes in this part. Sorry in advance.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>(Note: POV change = ~~~)</p><p>I look up and my face lights up when I see Skeppy standing right in front of me. He looks curious but also confused as to why I am in a second-year building. His eyes shimmering in curiosity is so cute.</p><p>“Oh, I am..I just needed a place to read,” I say nervously. Antfrost says I’m awful at lying, but I hope this one is convincing enough.</p><p>“Oh, okay,” Skeppy hums, and then silence falls over us. How do I tell him that we have to kiss again? Ugh, my face is burning up. Is he staring at me? Should I say something? I wish I could know what he’s thinking.</p><p>~~~</p><p>“Excuse me sir? Are you Zane?” Dream questions the taller, slightly intimidating male. Why did they have to get the tall, mean-looking one?</p><p>“Yeah, what’s up freshies? And if you’re asking for my notes from last year, it depends how much you pay me,” Zane explains in a half-friendly tone as if he expected this already. They haven't even started classes yet?</p><p>“No no, that won’t be necessary,” George insists adamantly with a slight chuckle, trying to be as friendly and polite as possible without overdoing it.</p><p>“Then what do you two want?” Zane questions the two strangers, now already getting a bit suspicious of them. Let’s just hope this works.</p><p>~~~</p><p>“Well um...you see uh,” I sputter out nervously, unsure how to put this. </p><p>“Are you okay? Your face is really flushed. Are you sick or something?” Skeppy asks in a slightly worried tone, cupping my face lightly with one hand and checking my temperature by putting his other hand on my forehead. He is not helping at all.</p><p>“I need you to kiss me,” I blurt out suddenly, now in a panic as he stares at me confused and in shock. Crap. I didn’t mean to say it like that. I didn’t think I’d say it at all. My heart is beating out of my chest. Can he hear it? Is it hot in here?</p><p>“Well I can’t say no to that invitation, but may I ask why?” Skeppy asks with a slight smirk, making my heart pound faster. I can’t handle this.</p><p>“Well b-because we need to know which one of you is my soulmate and I have to kiss at least one of you to figure that out,” I explain timidly, my face still burning as he kept my face cupped lightly in his hand.</p><p>“Oh, I see,” Skeppy hums, shaking his head up and down slowly in understanding, “That’s why Zane tried to kiss you yesterday. But rest assured, I will be the one to kiss you and prove that I’m your soulmate, okay?” Skeppy keeps bouncing his eyes between my eyes and lips as he talks, unable to focus on one. I gulp at his gaze.</p><p>~~~</p><p>“Wait...I recognize you two. You’re Bad’s friends or at least two of them. How is he doing? Especially after that whole charade with Skeppy. I didn’t get to apologize to him since he disappeared before I could,” Zane explains, looking between the two of us hopefully.</p><p>“Oh um, he’s uh…” George stutters nervously, wondering how much of Bad’s distress he should tell him, so Dream does it for him. Though Dream pauses a moment to admire how cute George is while stuttering, quickly focusing back on the mission at hand.</p><p>“He’s doing great actually. He’s um...got it all figured out,” Dream explains quickly and he can just see Zane is getting suspicious. </p><p>“He’s got it all figured? Wait, does he know who his soulmate is now? The only way he would know that is if he kissed either me or Skeppy and I haven’t kissed him yet,” Zane tells himself, thinking hard, “What did you say you needed me for again?”</p><p>“Oh, we didn’t,” I mumble as he had interrupted me before I could tell him my lie earlier, “We are doing a project to figure out the life and mind of the second years who survived through Freshman year.”</p><p>Zane squints at me suspiciously, stating, “But the classes for the freshmen haven’t started yet.”</p><p>Crap, why does he have to know that.</p><p>“It’s a personal project,” George answers quickly for me, covering for me.</p><p>“A...personal project?” Zane hums, relaxing a bit as he half believes us at this point, “Well, can we do this later? I have to go find Bad.”</p><p>Zane pushes past us slightly, starting down the hallway. Where Skeppy and Bad were.</p><p>~~~</p><p>“Well then let’s get this show on the road,” Skeppy coos happily, leaning down, inching his face closer and closer to mine. I quickly and nervously squeeze my eyes shut, but then I suddenly hear, “B-but Zane! Have I told you about honey honey?”</p><p>That is a code word that the mission has failed and they couldn’t keep him distracted. </p><p>“Crap,” I curse, or as close as I will ever get to curse, as I quickly lean away from Skeppy, “Zane’s coming and I really want to get this answer already. What do we do?”<br/>Skeppy, a little disappointed, whips around quickly, grabbing my arm and dragging me into a nearby lab room that is luckily empty. We freeze, hearing footsteps start walking towards the door and the voices of Dream and George trying to convince Zane to stop searching around for me. This isn’t good.</p><p>“I saw this door close over here, but all the labs should be empty at the moment,” I hear Zane inform as he approaches the door, Dream quickly saying he didn’t see anything, but to no avail.</p><p>Skeppy and I back away from the door, myself gripping onto Skeppy’s blue hoodie sleeve as he quickly looks around for a way to escape.</p><p>“Bad, in here,” Skeppy whispers quickly to me and, before I know it, Skeppy drags me into a small metal locker and shuts the door. Right after that, the door to the lab opens.<br/>“I could have sworn I saw someone go in here,” I hear Zane mumble as the shuffling of three feet travels around the room. Skeppy puts his finger on his light pink lips. He’s mere inches away from me. I can feel his breath on my nose.</p><p>“I’m telling you, Zane, we didn’t see anything,” George insists as the two anxiously follow him, wondering to themselves where I went as well.</p><p>Zane pauses right in front of the locker we are hiding in, so close I can hear his light breathing as he searches carefully for me, like a hunter searching for his prey. Then, just as soon as he was there, I hear disgruntled mumbles from Zane as the three left. As the doors to the lab click close, I reach to open the locker to get out of the hot space so close to Skeppy. But Skeppy puts his hand over mine to stop me from leaving. I look up at him confused, but he’s staring at me with a passionate expression I can’t even describe. Then, slowly but suddenly, Skeppy closes his eyes and starts to lean in.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Embarrassment</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Suddenly, the locker clicks open, and my head darts to the intruder before our lips can connect like Skeppy has planned. I go pale and my heart stops as I stare face to face with the older janitor looking very obviously sick of his job and not shocked by our presence or actions in the slightest. </p><p>“Sorry, but you guys should do that at your dorms,” The janitor instructs, his voice dark and raspy, sounding exhausted.</p><p>Mine and Skeppy’s faces both flush a dark red as we realize the predicament we’re in with a lack of an explanation or good excuse.</p><p>“S-sorry sir, let me just,” I sputter as I awkwardly squeeze out and push past the janitor gently, not even looking back for Skeppy as I try to rush out of this room as fast as I can. My face won’t calm down and I feel like I can barely breathe.</p><p>This was a disaster.</p><p>“Bad, wait,” Skeppy calls out quickly to me as he tries to catch up. I rush out of the doors of the room and out of the second year’s science building, Skeppy matching my pace. </p><p>“Look, I’m sorry, I just thought it was the perfect time and-” Skeppy tries to explain himself, but I cut him off.</p><p>“The perfect time? We were stuck in a tiny locker in a classroom with a class coming at any time and a very perceptive janitor. Does that seem like a good time to you?” I hiss at him through gritted teeth after stopping in my tracks and turning to him. We are out of the building now, the cool fall air flowing and swirling through the tension between us. </p><p>“You embarrassed me in front of someone I will have to see for the next few years I’ll be here. Now I won’t even be able to look him in the eyes!” I exclaim at Skeppy, knowing that interactions with the tired janitor won’t be that important. I know it’s so stupid to argue about this, but I’m already stressed about my failed attempts to figure out my soulmate because they are too stubborn to let the other be the deciding kiss. He embarrassed both of us, but I’m not really thinking of that at the moment.</p><p>“I’m sorry, I didn’t think anyone would catch us,” Skeppy apologizes sincerely, a bit shocked at how genuinely mad I am. </p><p>“If you had just let Zane kiss me that first time, we wouldn’t be in this mess!”</p><p>Skeppy looks hurt by that, but my guilt just simmers into my aggravation. He takes a step towards me, a desperate look on his face as he begs, “Please, let’s just kiss now and find out if we’re soulmates. Let’s just get over with like you want, okay?”</p><p>I take a step back in return, bringing my hands up in front of my chest defensively, “No, don’t. Not here. We can’t.”</p><p>“Why not? Don’t you wanna find out who your soulmate is?” Skeppy continues, a pleading look on his face. People are looking. He doesn’t realize how embarrassing this is. I feel like I’m gonna vomit.</p><p>“I said not here!” I exclaim, realizing my mistake as I look around. More people are staring at the scene we are creating. I can't handle this. I need to go. </p><p>Before I know it my legs are carrying me out of the light crowd to no place in particular. I just need to get out of there. The fast thumping of my feet on the pavement is matching the quick heartbeat that fills my ears. The area around me is a blur of grey and green and blue.</p><p>I run and run, panting wildly and only looking back for a moment to see a glimpse of Skeppy’s face before turning the corner around the second year's history building. His saddened look almost made me freeze in my panicked running. Almost. And then, I’m gone.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>AAA okay this chapter was a bit intense, but very short. Should I add another part today or should I just leave it here? :)</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Soulless</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>As per requested :)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Don’t you wanna know if we’re soulmates? If we kiss now, then we’ll feel it on our wrists,” The girl asked sweetly, her ocean eyes bright and shimmering. It made my heart skip a beat. We had been dating for two days now. It was only fitting.</p><p>“S-sure,” I stuttered, letting her small, ten-year-old hand reach out and cup my face, planting a big, slobbery kiss on my lips. I didn’t like it, but I didn’t know it wasn’t supposed to be like that, so I went with it.</p><p>I separate from the kiss excitedly, looking at her with a huge smile until I noticed her huge, evil smirk. </p><p>“You really just take slobbery kisses from anyone, don’t you?” The girl asked with a chuckle and I finally started to notice the students crowded around, giggling.</p><p>“You’ll just kiss anyone, won’t you? Just go kiss a frog, you Soulless,” She said, which put the nail in the coffin, the tears flowing like waterfalls as I ran off. </p><p>~~~</p><p>I sit at a park bench near the more wooded area of the college. Antfrost had told me about this bench that is a bit hidden by a row of bushes and was off the brick path. Somewhere quiet to calm down is all I need right now.</p><p>Why did so many people think I would be a Soulless? Am I just not good enough? I’ve been scared of finding out my soulmate that way ever since. I’m scared, terrified even, of what others really think of me. Though that didn’t justify the way I hurt Skeppy.</p><p>“I need to go back to him. I shouldn’t have exploded at him like that. I’ll go to him and we’ll finally figure out if we’re soulmates,” I state with a determined tone, lightly hitting my knee with my fist.</p><p>“What’s with the inspiring speech cutie?” A deep voice coos from behind me, making my soul leave my body and fly off into the afterlife. I jump up from the bench screaming, Zane quickly jumping back in surprise as well, almost screaming himself.</p><p>“Oh my god Bad, chill, I’m sorry. If I knew you’d react like that, I would have knocked,” Zane says half-jokingly, running his hand through his raven black hair. I pant deeply, removing the hand I subconsciously put to my heart. </p><p>“Z-Zane,” I stutter, still trembling as I try to gather myself, “What are you doing here?”</p><p>“I’ve been looking for you,” Zane hums, taking a step closer to me. Right, I was hiding from him before. “Were you in the science building by chance?”</p><p>“W-what? No, I w-wasn’t,” I sputter out with a nervous tremble. I’m lucky Zane has just scared me as it’s a good excuse for my sputtering.</p><p>“Look, I just really wanted to see you,” Zane says, stepping close to me, making me back up on instinct. My back hits the trunk of the tree and suddenly I am trapped in by Zane’s arms pinning me, “I needed to see you.”</p><p>“Zane, what are you..?” I start to ask, still out of breath, but not from the scare before.</p><p>“I can’t let Zak kiss you first. He’s my friend and all, but I can’t let him steal this from me. So just hush and let me do this.”<br/>
Before I can say anything, Zane basically gently intertwines his lips with mine. It isn’t anything like my first kiss so many years ago. It is soft and warm, and but I can’t seem to kiss him back as I’m scared of ruining this gentleness. I let out a deep sigh from my nose, my fingers picking at the bark behind me. I start to feel as if he is trying to suffocate me until he finally separates, my headlight and dizzy.</p><p>I stare at him with half-lidded eyes and almost stay like that too until Zane aks, “Well? Are you going to check your wrist?”</p><p>I blink and after a few seconds of hesitation, I nod and lift up my right arm for both of us to see. I start to tremble lightly in anticipation as I grab my sleeve and slowly start to pull my sleeve down.</p><p>I feel both of our hearts sink to our stomach when we see the letters still printed on  my wrist. </p><p>“Ah well, I guess it can’t be helped,” Zane sighs as he retracts, seeming mostly unphased. I know he isn’t.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” I apologize gently, knowing what he’s going through well. We both have the same fear that everyone else does, but that’s just life.</p><p>“I have a few decades. I can wait,” Zane finally declares after some thoughtful silence, “But you might not have to.”</p><p>I go to say more but Zane is already walking off, waving his hand lazily in the air. Weirdly, I know he’ll be fine. </p><p>I have to apologize to Skeppy and tell him the news. The only worry I have is the worry most people run into, but it is what I fear the most.</p><p>What if he’s not my soulmate?</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. ZAP</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This is the end. Will Bad be able to successfully express his feelings, or is it too late?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I run to where I last saw Skeppy. Luckily the crowd of people is gone by now. The crowd...including Skeppy. The next place to look is his dorm, but after a few knocks at his door, I realize he isn’t there either. </p><p>“Bad? What are you doing?” Antfrost asks as he emerges from my dorm, a confused look on his face, “I was so worried about where you went when I heard the plan went haywire. George, Clay, and Sapnap are just inside.”</p><p>“I know and I’ll explain everything later, I just need to find Skeppy,” I blurt out quickly, still looking around as if he’ll just appear around the corner or from thin air.<br/>Antfrost pauses for a moment, still worried about what happened and of my urgency to find Skeppy, but then says, “He came here a little while ago asking for you. He told me to tell you to meet him at the park two blocks away from the school, but if you don’t show up then that’s fi-”</p><p>I’m already bolting around the corner once Antfrost gives me the location, making a mental note to thank him later. I run down the stairs and out of the building faster than I ever have or ever will in my life. My heart is pounding as I sprint out of the college and down the sidewalk to the park all the way to the parking lot. I know that even if I was walking, my heart would still be pounding.</p><p> </p><p>Eventually, the cement walls and rural houses turn into a grassy public park to the left of me. I swerve my body ninety degrees into the park recklessly, my eyes darting around but not spotting Skeppy anywhere. Has he already left? Have I made him wait too long? I start farther into the park, my sprint now slowing to a speed walk. The more I walk down the small cement path down the sparsely wooded park, the less populated it becomes. As the foliage starts to increase enough and the path had starts to end, there was no one around. No one and I still haven’t found Skeppy anywhere.</p><p>I sigh in contempt, accepting my life as the guy who ditched his soulmate when I finally see him, the top of his dark chocolate-colored hair poking out above a tall bush. I round the bush and see a small pond almost completely closed off with densely leaved trees and tight bushes. There was a single bench near the lake, the aging wood gray and withering away. </p><p>“Skeppy?” I call quietly, the trembling from my voice shocking me. I approach the lonely male on the bench, his head turning to me. His face lights up, then falls in guilt. I take the seat next to him, looking out at the water in front of us.</p><p>“L-look, Bad, I,” Skeppy starts to say, but his words are suddenly replaced with muffled whimpers of shock. He leans back, his body now almost fully facing me except for his legs, which are still pointed straight at the lake. My legs are folded as I sit on them facing his direction. While he was talking, I cupped his face with both hands and slammed my lips into his.</p><p>My eyes are squeezed shut as to not be too embarrassed by my bold action as Skeppy’s eyes were wide with shock. His eyes soon closed though, cupping my face back as he easily turned my closed mouth kiss to a soft but passionate kiss. We separate for a second, or not even a second as Skeppy went right back to kissing me after a single sharp inhale. He changes the position so he is basically crawling onto me, myself patting his shoulder lightly for air. I can’t handle much more.</p><p>Reluctantly, Skeppy separates from my lips and, after a moment more of looking at me, crawls back to the place he was sitting. My face is unbelievably red, though Skeppy’s light blush is slightly relieving.</p><p>“Was that to figure out if we are soulmates?” Skeppy questions after a moment as I’ve been trying to compose myself. My heart is going crazy. This is so different than the kiss with Zane. I can barely handle it.</p><p>“Why else would I do that?” I exclaim, my voice being three octaves higher than it should be.</p><p>“I’m not sure, but I sure in fact liked it,” Skeppy determines gleefully, making me sigh from his simple-minded nature. I lift up my arm and stare at my clothed wrist, my breathing ragged (for many reasons).</p><p>“Hey,” Skeppy whispers in a sweetly soft tone, catching my attention, “Even if we’re not soulmates, I’m glad to be with you now.”</p><p>I nod, look back to my wrist, and take a deep breath, calmly pulling down my sleeve.</p><p>There, right on my wrist, I see the letters ZAP still printed in bold, blank ink letters. I feel like I’m gonna throw up. I just want to claw the letters off my wrist, and I know Skeppy feels just as devastated. I just like him so much. I truly thought the letters would go away. How naive I was.</p><p>I hang my head low to stare at my sweatshirt as tears swell and fill my eyes, falling from my eyes with a single blink. My arm falls to my leg, resting lazily as my whole body is limp and heavy.</p><p>“B-Bad,” Skeppy stutters, his voice trembling as he had cried too, but his tone is welling with excitement. I look up just a bit to barely see the letters on my wrist fading from existence, leaving my wrist completely barren. </p><p>I can’t believe it. I quickly check my other wrist wondering if I somehow just have the wrong one but my left wrist is blank as usual. I basically launch myself over to Skeppy, almost falling chest first into his lap as I grab his arm and check his right wrist as well. My initials are gone as well.</p><p>I erupt in celebratory yells and giggles, my face brighter than it’s ever been with tears of happiness streaming from my face. Skeppy’s face lights up as well, his beautiful caramel skin seeming to sparkle as he pounces on me, kissing me everywhere I’d allow him to. He finishes by giving me a long kiss on the lips, separating and hovering over me so we can just admire each other. </p><p>“Does this mean we have to move into the same dorm?” Skeppy questions jokingly, making me giggle as I push his face away playfully with my hand, Skeppy referencing, “And they were neighbors- Oh my god they were neighbors.”</p><p>“Look, I’m sorry for how I lashed out at you earlier, I was just-” I start to explain but I’m interrupted by a loving kiss from Skeppy.</p><p>“Shhh, that’s not important now. Less talking more kissing,” Skeppy hushes quickly before starting to kiss me again.</p><p> </p><p>Bonus!</p><p> </p><p>“Why were you two gone for two hours?” Antfrost exclaims loudly in frustration.</p><p>“That is no way to react to us announcing we’re soulmates,” Skeppy huffs, obviously avoiding the question.</p><p>“Oh come on, we knew the whole time,” Dream states dismissively to my shock.</p><p>“You what?!” I exclaim.</p><p>“Bad, we love you, but you could barely handle Skeppy, let alone Zane,” Sapnap adds, sipping at some orange juice, “Skeppy was just the easier option.”</p><p>I look up with a thoughtful expression as I tap my chin and agree, “Yeah, I guess you're right. He was a lot to handle.”</p><p>“Was a lot to handle?” Skeppy questions with an emphasis on the 'was' and in a not-so-happy tone that I don’t register, eyes darting to me.</p><p>“Yeah, when he pinned me to a tree and kissed me..” I explain, but start to trail off as I see the shock, anger, and intense jealousy in his expression and remember that I haven’t told him yet. Whoops.</p><p> </p><p>Zane suddenly feels a shiver up his spine and sneezes, feeling very tense and distressed.</p><p>“What’s up with you?” The sweet second-year named Dani asks, seeming annoyed with his presence.</p><p>“I don’t know, but I feel like I should run,” He expresses nervously, looking around cautiously.</p><p>“Good, I’ll be rid of you,” Dani huffs with a nasty tone, looking at him as if quietly begging him to stay, but only for a second.</p><p>“ZANE!!!” An angered yell from a beast yards away makes Zane jump out of his skin, hurrying to the door of the storage room they are organizing.</p><p>“That’s my cue. Gotta blast!” Zane calls quickly, zipping out of the room at incredible speeds. Dani only giggles when she’s sure he’s gone.</p><p>“Glad you found that funny. Give my body your number after I’m done with this!” Zane adds after popping his head out of the door he was hiding behind before actually darting away this time, Dani pissed and flustered.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for all the support of this story! It means the world to me and, honestly, I constantly stalk and check my inbox for any new comments. They're the highlight of my day! Hopefully more stories to come in the near future. I have so many story ideas and unfinished stories in the works right now and I'm honestly so excited! Thank you again and I hope you enjoyed! :D &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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